News

Medic on Blackburn 999 call kicked in face

AN AMBULANCE worker was kicked in the face after responding to a 999 call, in the latest in a series of attacks against staff in the north west.

The female ambulance technician was attending to a drunk woman in the back of her vehicle in Blackburn, when the patient became aggressive and ‘kicked out’ at her, police said.

The 38-year-old technician suffered bruising to her face and needed hospital treatment.

This latest incident comes after three North West Ambulance Service crew members were assaulted on New Year’s Eve, while two paramedics were held hostage at knifepoint for 90 minutes in Salford on Thursday morning.

Statistics suggest attacks on ambulance staff have increased sharply in recent years, and a special committee has been set up to tackle the issue in the north west.

Russ McLean, chairman of the Pennine Lancashire Patient Voices Group, said: “People who assault any public servant in the operation of their duty are complete morons as far as I’m concerned. Our ambulance crews are saving lives every day and what they certainly don’t need is people attacking them. This is really worrying and I just hope it won’t prevent anyone from wanting to be a paramedic.”

A spokesman for NWAS said the ambulance crew had responded to a 999 call at an address in Burnley at 11.10am on Wednesday for a patient complaining of fainting and unconsciousness.

The spokesman would not provide a more specific location, however, citing patient confidentiality.

Last year, the Lancashire Telegraph revealed there had been 200 physical assaults on north west ambulance staff in the six-month period to October, including 21 incidents in East Lancashire, the third highest figure in the region.

Directly comparable figures were not available, but a report by NHS Protect said there were 268 incidents over the whole year from April 2010 to March 2011, which was a 50 per cent increase on the previous year.

Steve Rice, branch secretary for the GMB union at NWAS, said: “These incidents have always been a concern and there’s anecdotal evidence that they are on the increase.

“It’s a difficult one but we are in talks with management about ways we can alleviate this and have recently set up a special committee to look at it.”

Ian Walmsley, NWAS sector manager, said: “We are currently investigating the incident and are, of course, working with the police to ensure that the person responsible is prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

“Violence and aggression of any kind towards our staff will not be tolerated. NWAS fully supports staff members who become victims of assault and encourages them to report incidents to the police.”

Lancashire Police said a 60-year-old woman from Brierfield was due to be interviewed in relation to Wednesday’s incident, but she had not been arrested.

Comments (24)

Spokesman for nwas won't name the thug who attacked one of their ambulance crews for patient confidentiality SHOCKING! If someone acts like a drunken idiot and attacks a member of the emergency services they should be named and shamed. That is prob best result because even if incident ends up in court the court will probably give the drunk a community sentence! If did that in America ud get a lengthy jail sentence

Spokesman for nwas won't name the thug who attacked one of their ambulance crews for patient confidentiality SHOCKING! If someone acts like a drunken idiot and attacks a member of the emergency services they should be named and shamed. That is prob best result because even if incident ends up in court the court will probably give the drunk a community sentence! If did that in America ud get a lengthy jail sentencecrusade to find the truth from the brown stuff

I have to agree with the above comments. However when are we going to tackle the root cause, Alcohol? we seem to shy away from this problem every time. Why is it people need to drink to the point of incapacity ? If life is that bad then change it.

I have to agree with the above comments. However when are we going to tackle the root cause, Alcohol? we seem to shy away from this problem every time. Why is it people need to drink to the point of incapacity ? If life is that bad then change it.mavrick

StopDeludingYourself wrote:
As other commentators have said with other articles, drink is at the forefront of this, if it wasn't for alcohol, this would have never happened!

That doesn't justify it thou........i been drunk many times and never assaulted anybody.......also there was an assault the day after to different person where alcohol was not involved!

[quote][p][bold]StopDeludingYourself[/bold] wrote:
As other commentators have said with other articles, drink is at the forefront of this, if it wasn't for alcohol, this would have never happened![/p][/quote]That doesn't justify it thou........i been drunk many times and never assaulted anybody.......also there was an assault the day after to different person where alcohol was not involved!dap123

StopDeludingYourself wrote:
As other commentators have said with other articles, drink is at the forefront of this, if it wasn't for alcohol, this would have never happened!

That doesn't justify it thou........i been drunk many times and never assaulted anybody.......also there was an assault the day after to different person where alcohol was not involved!

But end of day, do you believe this would have happened without alcohol??

[quote][p][bold]dap123[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]StopDeludingYourself[/bold] wrote:
As other commentators have said with other articles, drink is at the forefront of this, if it wasn't for alcohol, this would have never happened![/p][/quote]That doesn't justify it thou........i been drunk many times and never assaulted anybody.......also there was an assault the day after to different person where alcohol was not involved![/p][/quote]But end of day, do you believe this would have happened without alcohol??StopDeludingYourself

Stop deluding yourself, make note of your own name and wise up. The reason why this is happening is because the ambulance service are far too soft, and don't give their staff the support they deserve and the police are a total let down. The police can't be bothered to help out crews in vulnerable situations because they are to tied up playing candy crush!! The judicial service in this country is a massive joke that allows the vulnerable to become more vulnerable. Drink is possibly a factor but the biggest factor is that it has become fashionable to attack people trying to help because all they'll get is a slapped wrist at most. And that's been proven many times of late

Stop deluding yourself, make note of your own name and wise up. The reason why this is happening is because the ambulance service are far too soft, and don't give their staff the support they deserve and the police are a total let down. The police can't be bothered to help out crews in vulnerable situations because they are to tied up playing candy crush!! The judicial service in this country is a massive joke that allows the vulnerable to become more vulnerable. Drink is possibly a factor but the biggest factor is that it has become fashionable to attack people trying to help because all they'll get is a slapped wrist at most. And that's been proven many times of lateAnonymityiwish

Anonymityiwish wrote:
Stop deluding yourself, make note of your own name and wise up. The reason why this is happening is because the ambulance service are far too soft, and don't give their staff the support they deserve and the police are a total let down. The police can't be bothered to help out crews in vulnerable situations because they are to tied up playing candy crush!! The judicial service in this country is a massive joke that allows the vulnerable to become more vulnerable. Drink is possibly a factor but the biggest factor is that it has become fashionable to attack people trying to help because all they'll get is a slapped wrist at most. And that's been proven many times of late

In the words of John McEnroe, are you serious? Don't you dare twist this attack to become the ambulance / police's fault, yes you are right the system is soft, but that isn't an excuse for it happening in the first place.

It is without doubt that this woman would have not attacked the crew if she was not drunk, she would be sensible enough to know that is a stupid thing to do.

Whilst I appreciate some can control themselves and some can't when drinking, why the hell do we let this go on and on and on?

It is time that curbs are made on drink, if not ban it, tax it to hell.

[quote][p][bold]Anonymityiwish[/bold] wrote:
Stop deluding yourself, make note of your own name and wise up. The reason why this is happening is because the ambulance service are far too soft, and don't give their staff the support they deserve and the police are a total let down. The police can't be bothered to help out crews in vulnerable situations because they are to tied up playing candy crush!! The judicial service in this country is a massive joke that allows the vulnerable to become more vulnerable. Drink is possibly a factor but the biggest factor is that it has become fashionable to attack people trying to help because all they'll get is a slapped wrist at most. And that's been proven many times of late[/p][/quote]In the words of John McEnroe, are you serious? Don't you dare twist this attack to become the ambulance / police's fault, yes you are right the system is soft, but that isn't an excuse for it happening in the first place.
It is without doubt that this woman would have not attacked the crew if she was not drunk, she would be sensible enough to know that is a stupid thing to do.
Whilst I appreciate some can control themselves and some can't when drinking, why the hell do we let this go on and on and on?
It is time that curbs are made on drink, if not ban it, tax it to hell.StopDeludingYourself

Hang on how do you know for sure the attack wouldn't of happened if the woman wasn't drunk....like I said another person got assaulted day after and there was no alcohol involved there! so you don't know whether it would of still happened or not and whether alcohol is involved or not it still shouldn't be allowed!

Hang on how do you know for sure the attack wouldn't of happened if the woman wasn't drunk....like I said another person got assaulted day after and there was no alcohol involved there! so you don't know whether it would of still happened or not and whether alcohol is involved or not it still shouldn't be allowed!dap123

Shuch a shame , attacking people who are there to help you! This staff probably went home via station with all the paperwork to be filled, then off duty! That's an ambulance of the road , so it's not just one incident that can affect you. That staff cannot treat yours of my family only because some idiot was drunk & thought it would amusing to assault someone.

Shuch a shame , attacking people who are there to help you! This staff probably went home via station with all the paperwork to be filled, then off duty! That's an ambulance of the road , so it's not just one incident that can affect you. That staff cannot treat yours of my family only because some idiot was drunk & thought it would amusing to assault someone.Blue-tonic

dap123 wrote:
Hang on how do you know for sure the attack wouldn't of happened if the woman wasn't drunk....like I said another person got assaulted day after and there was no alcohol involved there! so you don't know whether it would of still happened or not and whether alcohol is involved or not it still shouldn't be allowed!

Give me an example where a paramedic gets attacked and the person isn't drunk? The example you give is true, but that attack wasn't against a paramedic?!

[quote][p][bold]dap123[/bold] wrote:
Hang on how do you know for sure the attack wouldn't of happened if the woman wasn't drunk....like I said another person got assaulted day after and there was no alcohol involved there! so you don't know whether it would of still happened or not and whether alcohol is involved or not it still shouldn't be allowed![/p][/quote]Give me an example where a paramedic gets attacked and the person isn't drunk? The example you give is true, but that attack wasn't against a paramedic?!StopDeludingYourself

dap123 wrote:
Hang on how do you know for sure the attack wouldn't of happened if the woman wasn't drunk....like I said another person got assaulted day after and there was no alcohol involved there! so you don't know whether it would of still happened or not and whether alcohol is involved or not it still shouldn't be allowed!

Give me an example where a paramedic gets attacked and the person isn't drunk? The example you give is true, but that attack wasn't against a paramedic?!

Yes it was......another member of staff was assaulted the day after and alcohol wasn't involved.

[quote][p][bold]StopDeludingYourself[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]dap123[/bold] wrote:
Hang on how do you know for sure the attack wouldn't of happened if the woman wasn't drunk....like I said another person got assaulted day after and there was no alcohol involved there! so you don't know whether it would of still happened or not and whether alcohol is involved or not it still shouldn't be allowed![/p][/quote]Give me an example where a paramedic gets attacked and the person isn't drunk? The example you give is true, but that attack wasn't against a paramedic?![/p][/quote]Yes it was......another member of staff was assaulted the day after and alcohol wasn't involved.dap123

dap123 wrote:
Hang on how do you know for sure the attack wouldn't of happened if the woman wasn't drunk....like I said another person got assaulted day after and there was no alcohol involved there! so you don't know whether it would of still happened or not and whether alcohol is involved or not it still shouldn't be allowed!

Give me an example where a paramedic gets attacked and the person isn't drunk? The example you give is true, but that attack wasn't against a paramedic?!

Yes it was......another member of staff was assaulted the day after and alcohol wasn't involved.

Well I stand corrected, but the attacks when drunk, and attacks when not drunk, the difference is massive.

[quote][p][bold]dap123[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]StopDeludingYourself[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]dap123[/bold] wrote:
Hang on how do you know for sure the attack wouldn't of happened if the woman wasn't drunk....like I said another person got assaulted day after and there was no alcohol involved there! so you don't know whether it would of still happened or not and whether alcohol is involved or not it still shouldn't be allowed![/p][/quote]Give me an example where a paramedic gets attacked and the person isn't drunk? The example you give is true, but that attack wasn't against a paramedic?![/p][/quote]Yes it was......another member of staff was assaulted the day after and alcohol wasn't involved.[/p][/quote]Well I stand corrected, but the attacks when drunk, and attacks when not drunk, the difference is massive.StopDeludingYourself

dap123 wrote:
Hang on how do you know for sure the attack wouldn't of happened if the woman wasn't drunk....like I said another person got assaulted day after and there was no alcohol involved there! so you don't know whether it would of still happened or not and whether alcohol is involved or not it still shouldn't be allowed!

Give me an example where a paramedic gets attacked and the person isn't drunk? The example you give is true, but that attack wasn't against a paramedic?!

Yes it was......another member of staff was assaulted the day after and alcohol wasn't involved.

Well I stand corrected, but the attacks when drunk, and attacks when not drunk, the difference is massive.

yes I agree but it not just drunk related assaults....there are non alcohol related incidents but neither should be happening. the ambulance go and help and get assaulted. Its not on at all. Hope the staff who was kicked in face is recovering well xx

[quote][p][bold]StopDeludingYourself[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]dap123[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]StopDeludingYourself[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]dap123[/bold] wrote:
Hang on how do you know for sure the attack wouldn't of happened if the woman wasn't drunk....like I said another person got assaulted day after and there was no alcohol involved there! so you don't know whether it would of still happened or not and whether alcohol is involved or not it still shouldn't be allowed![/p][/quote]Give me an example where a paramedic gets attacked and the person isn't drunk? The example you give is true, but that attack wasn't against a paramedic?![/p][/quote]Yes it was......another member of staff was assaulted the day after and alcohol wasn't involved.[/p][/quote]Well I stand corrected, but the attacks when drunk, and attacks when not drunk, the difference is massive.[/p][/quote]yes I agree but it not just drunk related assaults....there are non alcohol related incidents but neither should be happening. the ambulance go and help and get assaulted. Its not on at all. Hope the staff who was kicked in face is recovering well xxdap123

If the courts made is an automatic imprisonable crime to assault ambulance or police there would be a deterrent there. Now, it it seen as just part of their job to be assaulted. The courts are the ones that should take the blame. There is no fear anymore!!!!

If the courts made is an automatic imprisonable crime to assault ambulance or police there would be a deterrent there. Now, it it seen as just part of their job to be assaulted. The courts are the ones that should take the blame. There is no fear anymore!!!!foxy lass

Anonymityiwish wrote:
Stop deluding yourself, make note of your own name and wise up. The reason why this is happening is because the ambulance service are far too soft, and don't give their staff the support they deserve and the police are a total let down. The police can't be bothered to help out crews in vulnerable situations because they are to tied up playing candy crush!! The judicial service in this country is a massive joke that allows the vulnerable to become more vulnerable. Drink is possibly a factor but the biggest factor is that it has become fashionable to attack people trying to help because all they'll get is a slapped wrist at most. And that's been proven many times of late

In the words of John McEnroe, are you serious? Don't you dare twist this attack to become the ambulance / police's fault, yes you are right the system is soft, but that isn't an excuse for it happening in the first place.

It is without doubt that this woman would have not attacked the crew if she was not drunk, she would be sensible enough to know that is a stupid thing to do.

Whilst I appreciate some can control themselves and some can't when drinking, why the hell do we let this go on and on and on?

It is time that curbs are made on drink, if not ban it, tax it to hell.

What and punish people who work hard and drink responsibly??? Have you ever been in the back of an ambulance waiting for police assistance? Have you ever needed police assistance? Well if it's a no don't you dare respond on something you clearly know nothing about. And if you have or are a police officer then you should know that there are weak links who can't be bothered due to democracy and red tape, why help a crew out? More paperwork! I see it from both angles and I'm afraid to say there is no team work when it comes from crews needing help from police and ambulance management.

[quote][p][bold]StopDeludingYourself[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]Anonymityiwish[/bold] wrote:
Stop deluding yourself, make note of your own name and wise up. The reason why this is happening is because the ambulance service are far too soft, and don't give their staff the support they deserve and the police are a total let down. The police can't be bothered to help out crews in vulnerable situations because they are to tied up playing candy crush!! The judicial service in this country is a massive joke that allows the vulnerable to become more vulnerable. Drink is possibly a factor but the biggest factor is that it has become fashionable to attack people trying to help because all they'll get is a slapped wrist at most. And that's been proven many times of late[/p][/quote]In the words of John McEnroe, are you serious? Don't you dare twist this attack to become the ambulance / police's fault, yes you are right the system is soft, but that isn't an excuse for it happening in the first place.
It is without doubt that this woman would have not attacked the crew if she was not drunk, she would be sensible enough to know that is a stupid thing to do.
Whilst I appreciate some can control themselves and some can't when drinking, why the hell do we let this go on and on and on?
It is time that curbs are made on drink, if not ban it, tax it to hell.[/p][/quote]What and punish people who work hard and drink responsibly??? Have you ever been in the back of an ambulance waiting for police assistance? Have you ever needed police assistance? Well if it's a no don't you dare respond on something you clearly know nothing about. And if you have or are a police officer then you should know that there are weak links who can't be bothered due to democracy and red tape, why help a crew out? More paperwork! I see it from both angles and I'm afraid to say there is no team work when it comes from crews needing help from police and ambulance management.Anonymityiwish

Anonymityiwish wrote:
Stop deluding yourself, make note of your own name and wise up. The reason why this is happening is because the ambulance service are far too soft, and don't give their staff the support they deserve and the police are a total let down. The police can't be bothered to help out crews in vulnerable situations because they are to tied up playing candy crush!! The judicial service in this country is a massive joke that allows the vulnerable to become more vulnerable. Drink is possibly a factor but the biggest factor is that it has become fashionable to attack people trying to help because all they'll get is a slapped wrist at most. And that's been proven many times of late

In the words of John McEnroe, are you serious? Don't you dare twist this attack to become the ambulance / police's fault, yes you are right the system is soft, but that isn't an excuse for it happening in the first place.

It is without doubt that this woman would have not attacked the crew if she was not drunk, she would be sensible enough to know that is a stupid thing to do.

Whilst I appreciate some can control themselves and some can't when drinking, why the hell do we let this go on and on and on?

It is time that curbs are made on drink, if not ban it, tax it to hell.

What and punish people who work hard and drink responsibly??? Have you ever been in the back of an ambulance waiting for police assistance? Have you ever needed police assistance? Well if it's a no don't you dare respond on something you clearly know nothing about. And if you have or are a police officer then you should know that there are weak links who can't be bothered due to democracy and red tape, why help a crew out? More paperwork! I see it from both angles and I'm afraid to say there is no team work when it comes from crews needing help from police and ambulance management.

But I still don't understand on how you have twisted this to be the services fault? Surely its the woman? We all know the system is broke, but why blame the system now, when this woman was an idiot?!

[quote][p][bold]Anonymityiwish[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]StopDeludingYourself[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]Anonymityiwish[/bold] wrote:
Stop deluding yourself, make note of your own name and wise up. The reason why this is happening is because the ambulance service are far too soft, and don't give their staff the support they deserve and the police are a total let down. The police can't be bothered to help out crews in vulnerable situations because they are to tied up playing candy crush!! The judicial service in this country is a massive joke that allows the vulnerable to become more vulnerable. Drink is possibly a factor but the biggest factor is that it has become fashionable to attack people trying to help because all they'll get is a slapped wrist at most. And that's been proven many times of late[/p][/quote]In the words of John McEnroe, are you serious? Don't you dare twist this attack to become the ambulance / police's fault, yes you are right the system is soft, but that isn't an excuse for it happening in the first place.
It is without doubt that this woman would have not attacked the crew if she was not drunk, she would be sensible enough to know that is a stupid thing to do.
Whilst I appreciate some can control themselves and some can't when drinking, why the hell do we let this go on and on and on?
It is time that curbs are made on drink, if not ban it, tax it to hell.[/p][/quote]What and punish people who work hard and drink responsibly??? Have you ever been in the back of an ambulance waiting for police assistance? Have you ever needed police assistance? Well if it's a no don't you dare respond on something you clearly know nothing about. And if you have or are a police officer then you should know that there are weak links who can't be bothered due to democracy and red tape, why help a crew out? More paperwork! I see it from both angles and I'm afraid to say there is no team work when it comes from crews needing help from police and ambulance management.[/p][/quote]But I still don't understand on how you have twisted this to be the services fault? Surely its the woman? We all know the system is broke, but why blame the system now, when this woman was an idiot?!StopDeludingYourself

Anonymityiwish wrote:
Stop deluding yourself, make note of your own name and wise up. The reason why this is happening is because the ambulance service are far too soft, and don't give their staff the support they deserve and the police are a total let down. The police can't be bothered to help out crews in vulnerable situations because they are to tied up playing candy crush!! The judicial service in this country is a massive joke that allows the vulnerable to become more vulnerable. Drink is possibly a factor but the biggest factor is that it has become fashionable to attack people trying to help because all they'll get is a slapped wrist at most. And that's been proven many times of late

In the words of John McEnroe, are you serious? Don't you dare twist this attack to become the ambulance / police's fault, yes you are right the system is soft, but that isn't an excuse for it happening in the first place.

It is without doubt that this woman would have not attacked the crew if she was not drunk, she would be sensible enough to know that is a stupid thing to do.

Whilst I appreciate some can control themselves and some can't when drinking, why the hell do we let this go on and on and on?

It is time that curbs are made on drink, if not ban it, tax it to hell.

What and punish people who work hard and drink responsibly??? Have you ever been in the back of an ambulance waiting for police assistance? Have you ever needed police assistance? Well if it's a no don't you dare respond on something you clearly know nothing about. And if you have or are a police officer then you should know that there are weak links who can't be bothered due to democracy and red tape, why help a crew out? More paperwork! I see it from both angles and I'm afraid to say there is no team work when it comes from crews needing help from police and ambulance management.

But I still don't understand on how you have twisted this to be the services fault? Surely its the woman? We all know the system is broke, but why blame the system now, when this woman was an idiot?!

The "service" offers NO insurance or protection to its employees. People such like these intoxicated or not are allowed to get away with it. For all the assaults that are reported I can bet you there's hundreds more that don't get reported as it's too much hassle and for what, 1 hour community service it would take longer to report it but then again lances police fudge figures as also written in this fine piece of fish wrapper paper so who do we believe? So yeah I do blame management for not protecting their staff.

[quote][p][bold]StopDeludingYourself[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]Anonymityiwish[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]StopDeludingYourself[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]Anonymityiwish[/bold] wrote:
Stop deluding yourself, make note of your own name and wise up. The reason why this is happening is because the ambulance service are far too soft, and don't give their staff the support they deserve and the police are a total let down. The police can't be bothered to help out crews in vulnerable situations because they are to tied up playing candy crush!! The judicial service in this country is a massive joke that allows the vulnerable to become more vulnerable. Drink is possibly a factor but the biggest factor is that it has become fashionable to attack people trying to help because all they'll get is a slapped wrist at most. And that's been proven many times of late[/p][/quote]In the words of John McEnroe, are you serious? Don't you dare twist this attack to become the ambulance / police's fault, yes you are right the system is soft, but that isn't an excuse for it happening in the first place.
It is without doubt that this woman would have not attacked the crew if she was not drunk, she would be sensible enough to know that is a stupid thing to do.
Whilst I appreciate some can control themselves and some can't when drinking, why the hell do we let this go on and on and on?
It is time that curbs are made on drink, if not ban it, tax it to hell.[/p][/quote]What and punish people who work hard and drink responsibly??? Have you ever been in the back of an ambulance waiting for police assistance? Have you ever needed police assistance? Well if it's a no don't you dare respond on something you clearly know nothing about. And if you have or are a police officer then you should know that there are weak links who can't be bothered due to democracy and red tape, why help a crew out? More paperwork! I see it from both angles and I'm afraid to say there is no team work when it comes from crews needing help from police and ambulance management.[/p][/quote]But I still don't understand on how you have twisted this to be the services fault? Surely its the woman? We all know the system is broke, but why blame the system now, when this woman was an idiot?![/p][/quote]The "service" offers NO insurance or protection to its employees. People such like these intoxicated or not are allowed to get away with it. For all the assaults that are reported I can bet you there's hundreds more that don't get reported as it's too much hassle and for what, 1 hour community service it would take longer to report it but then again lances police fudge figures as also written in this fine piece of fish wrapper paper so who do we believe? So yeah I do blame management for not protecting their staff.Anonymityiwish

Angusam wrote:
If anyone starts this abuse or threatens ambulance staff, they should be taken off the stretcher and dumped in the gutter where they belong.

i couldn't agree with you more. very well said.

[quote][p][bold]Angusam[/bold] wrote:
If anyone starts this abuse or threatens ambulance staff, they should be taken off the stretcher and dumped in the gutter where they belong.[/p][/quote]i couldn't agree with you more. very well said.ex fusilier

I dont think its just down to drink, its patient attitudes towards staff,, (not all patients) the NHS has had such a lot of bad publicity over the last 12 months, people start to lose faith and respect for it. Of course failings do need to be reported, if only it was balanced though you would find the good far outweighs the bad im sure. I have seen the steady decline of attitudes, respect and appreciation from some patients over the last 13 years. Some think that they know better than the health professionals and demand what treatment they think they need, some take no responsibility for their own health and just expect that someone else will make it better, only to be in a cycle due to their own neglect. some are the first to complain but last to say thank you, some think they have the right to speak/treat you however they like. 99 % of staff i have worked with over the years have always gone above and beyond for patients because they care, sometimes it is still not good enough. One day there may be no NHS, wonder if attitudes will change then?

I dont think its just down to drink, its patient attitudes towards staff,, (not all patients) the NHS has had such a lot of bad publicity over the last 12 months, people start to lose faith and respect for it. Of course failings do need to be reported, if only it was balanced though you would find the good far outweighs the bad im sure. I have seen the steady decline of attitudes, respect and appreciation from some patients over the last 13 years. Some think that they know better than the health professionals and demand what treatment they think they need, some take no responsibility for their own health and just expect that someone else will make it better, only to be in a cycle due to their own neglect. some are the first to complain but last to say thank you, some think they have the right to speak/treat you however they like. 99 % of staff i have worked with over the years have always gone above and beyond for patients because they care, sometimes it is still not good enough. One day there may be no NHS, wonder if attitudes will change then?julespent